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Wednesday, 27 February 2013

Nearly three quarters of Germans support same-sex marriage, according to a poll published on Wednesday, as Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives weigh up extending more rights to homosexual couples ahead of a September election.

Nearly three quarters of Germans support same-sex marriage, according to a poll published on Wednesday, as Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives weigh up extending more rights to homosexual couples ahead of a September election.

The survey for RTL television and Stern magazine suggested 74 percent of Germans were in favour of allowing homosexuals to marry and 23 percent against.

Support is strongest among people voting for the opposition Greens and centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) but even among those backing Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU), almost two-thirds were in favour, the poll showed.

The CDU wants to boost its appeal among urban voters as it gears up for this year's vote.

Merkel's government is preparing to amend the law to grant same-sex couples greater adoption rights after Germany's constitutional court ruled last week that gay people should be allowed to adopt a child already adopted by their partner. Heterosexual couples already have the right.

The court has given the government until July 2014 to amend the law.

Last weekend, a close Merkel ally hinted that the party may also be ready to abandon its opposition to giving gay couples the same preferential tax treatment as married heterosexuals.

Homosexuals in Germany can form civil partnerships but cannot marry. Opposition parties accuse the CDU, staunch advocates of traditional family values, of dragging their feet on gay rights.

The CDU's more conservative Bavaria-based sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), has warned against rushing to change the law.

Earlier this month, the lower houses of parliament in both France and Britain voted in favour of gay marriage.

A bill legalizing gay marriage cleared a Democratic-led committee late Tuesday and now moves to the full House, where the issue is expected to meet its toughest test.

The proposal, approved on a 6-5 vote in the House Executive Committee shortly before 10 p.m., is coming under increasingly heavy fire from church organizations who say same-sex marriage violates moral and religious principles. But advocates have ratcheted up calls for swift action.

Sponsoring Rep. Greg Harris, D-Chicago, said the bill is needed “because we need to treat all Illinois families equally under the law” but the status of people in civil unions is often misunderstood.

Under the measure, marriage in Illinois would be allowed between two people rather than only a man and a woman. Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn has vowed to sign the legislation, a move that would make Illinois the 10th state in the nation to allow same-sex marriage. The Senate passed the legislation with only one Republican vote on Valentine’s Day.

Advocates said the proposal would allow ministers to refuse to perform same-sex marriages if it’s against their beliefs and would not require church officials to make their buildings or parish halls available if they don’t wish it. But opponents have questioned if the protections are strong enough.

The House has held close votes on same-sex issues over the years. The latest movement to support gay marriage in Illinois has evolved quickly. It’s been less than two years since the first civil union certificates were issued for gay and straight couples.

But with the Democrats increasing their majorities in both the House and the Senate during last fall’s elections, the gay marriage issue gained traction. Advocates tried to pass the measure in the brief, lame-duck legislative session in January, but they called off the bid and refocused on passing the bill in the newly seated General Assembly.

Tuesday, 26 February 2013

After deliberating over a claim submitted by two women over parenting rights, the supreme court of Kansas passed a landmark ruling in favor of gay adoption
25 FEBRUARY 2013 | BY DAN LITTAUER

Kansas state supreme court made a landmark ruling that same-sex couples are to be allowed to adopt.

In addition it ruled that when a same-sex couple has a child together, both parents can be fully recognized as parents under Kansas state law.

The court explained that Kansas parentage laws apply equally to women and non-biological parents, and that courts must consider the reality of who a child’s parents are in order to protect the interests of children.

With this ruling, Kansas joins a number of other US states in ruling that when two people bring a child into the world and then raise that child as co-parents, the law should treat both of them as the child’s parents, regardless of gender or biology.

The ruling was delivered on Friday (22 February) over a case of two women, Marci Frazier and Kelly Goudschaal, who had been raising children together, but then faced a custody dispute after they separated.

The court ruled that the coparenting contract the couple had signed is valid and should be recognized, as their children are better off having two parents than just one:

'To summarize, the coparenting agreement before us cannot be construed as a prohibited sale of the children because the biological mother retains her parental duties and responsibilities.

'The agreement is not injurious to the public because it provides the children with the resources of two persons, rather than leaving them as the fatherless children of an artificially inseminated mother. No societal interest has been harmed; no mischief has been done.

'Like the contract in Shirk, the coparenting agreement here contains “no element of immorality or illegality and did not violate public policy,” but rather “the contract was for the advantage and welfare of the child[ren]'.

WASHINGTON — Dozens of prominent Republicans — including top advisers to former President George W. Bush, four former governors and two members of Congress — have signed a legal brief arguing that gay people have a constitutional right to marry, a position that amounts to a direct challenge to Speaker John A. Boehner and reflects the civil war in the party since the November election.

Jon M. Huntsman Jr., who opposed same-sex marriage during his 2012 presidential bid, signed the brief.

The document will be submitted this week to the Supreme Court in support of a suit seeking to strike downProposition 8, a California ballot initiative barring same-sex marriage, and all similar bans. The court will hear back-to-back arguments next month in that case and another pivotal gay rights case that challenges the 1996 federal Defense of Marriage Act.”

The Proposition 8 case already has a powerful conservative supporter: Theodore B. Olson, the former solicitor general under Mr. Bush and one of the suit’s two lead lawyers. The amicus, or friend-of-the-court, brief is being filed with Mr. Olson’s blessing. It argues, as he does, that same-sex marriage promotes family values by allowing children of gay couples to grow up in two-parent homes, and that it advances conservative values of “limited government and maximizing individual freedom.”

Legal analysts said the brief had the potential to sway conservative justices as much for the prominent names attached to it as for its legal arguments. The list of signers includes a string of Republican officials and influential thinkers — 75 as of Monday evening — who are not ordinarily associated with gay rights advocacy, including some who are speaking out for the first time and others who have changed their previous positions.

Among them are Meg Whitman, who supported Proposition 8 when she ran for California governor; Representatives Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida and Richard Hanna of New York; Stephen J. Hadley, a Bush national security adviser; Carlos Gutierrez, a commerce secretary to Mr. Bush; James B. Comey, a top Bush Justice Department official; David A. Stockman, President Ronald Reagan’s first budget director; and Deborah Pryce, a former member of the House Republican leadership from Ohio who is retired from Congress.

Experts say that amicus briefs generally do not change Supreme Court justices’ minds. But on Monday some said that the Republican brief, written by Seth P. Waxman, a former solicitor general in the administration of President Bill Clinton, and Reginald Brown, who served in the Bush White House Counsel’s Office, might be an exception..

Monday, 25 February 2013

Leaders of the of the Germany's right wing Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party said they are prepared to bridge the gap between gay and straight couples.
During an interview this weekend with the weekly news magazine Focus, finance minister, Wolfgang Schaeuble said the government was examining the effects of a ruling on Tuesday by a constitutional court, saying that gays in a civil partnership should be able to adopt their partners' adopted children.
In 2001, Germany legalized same-sex registered partnerships with similar rights to married couples, excluding tax and adoption rights.

Friday, 22 February 2013

Senate committee recommends new anti-discrimination law be passed listing 'intersex' separately as a protected identity

Gina Wilson, President of Organisation Intersex International (OII)Australia

21 FEBRUARY 2013 | BY ANNA LEACH

Following calls from LGBTI rights groups and legal experts, the Australian Senate committee drafting the new Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination Bill has recommended that 'intersex' be included as a category in its own right in the proposed law.

'The committee recognizes that intersex individuals are often the subject of discrimination in public life, and that as such there is a need for protection on the basis of intersex status in Commonwealth anti-discrimination law,' said the report published today.

The report said the committee agreed with campaigners that 'intersex is a matter of biology rather than gender identity,' so protection from discrimination was not covered by the definition of gender identity in the draft bill.

'This is a profoundly important report in that it recognizes that intersex is a “matter of biology rather than gender identity”, and reflects “innate biological characteristics”,' said Gina Wilson, president of Organization Intersex International Australia (OII Australia).

'Internationally it represents best practice, proposing the explicit inclusion of intersex people in anti-discrimination legislation for only the second time anywhere [after Tasmania].'

The Senate committee's report added that 'since intersex status is a condition related to the innate biological characteristics of an individual, it should not be an attribute to which any religious exceptions apply'.

Regarding religious exceptions, the committee recommended that they be removed from religious groups who provide services, but remain for employment.

Wilson thanked the many LGBTI rights groups and legal experts, including New South Wales Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby, the National Association of Community Legal Centres and Australian Human Rights Commission, who added their voices to the call for 'intersex' to be listed separately on the Bill.

If passed, the new law would protect the rights of sexual orientation and gender identity minorities from discrimination in Australia for the first time.

'This is an historic reform that is long overdue, and will provide significant benefits to sex and gender diverse Australians,' said the Senate committee's report.

Victoria Gay & Lesbian Rights Lobby (VGLRL), OII Australia and TransGender Victoria released a joint statement today calling for the government to pass the Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination Bill into law before the next election.

'We urge the government to adopt the recommendations of the committee and pass the legislation as soon as possible, to deliver on its commitment to introduction discrimination protections on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity,” said VGLRL convener Anna Brown.

Intersexion, a documentary about the difficulties that intersex people face in society, is showing at Sydney Mardi Gras film festival this month and Melboure Queer Film Festival next month.

Thursday, 21 February 2013

The Irish Minister for Education, Ruairí Quinn TD today opened a European Union conference on homophobic and transphobic bullying in schools, and emphasised the importance education plays in reducing such prejudice.

Ruairi Quinn opened the conference which aimed to tackle homophobic and transphobic bullying in schools

Mr Quinn opened the conference, which was organised by the European region of the International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA), and Irish organisations GLEN, and BeLonG To.

It is the first ever EU-level conference on homophobic and transphobic bullying in schools.

The aim of the conference was to bring together national policy makers, teachers, school leaders and NGOs, in order to debate, and tackle the issue of bullying, reports GCN.

The Minister for Education said: “Education plays a key role in supporting LGBT young people and also tackling the underlying prejudices which can lead to homophobic and transphobic bullying”.

Michael Barron, Director of BeLonG To Youth Services said: “There is a growing understanding of the seriousness of the issues for young LGBT people, both in Ireland and across Europe. The Department of Education has recently published a national Action Plan on Bullying that fully integrates measures to tackle prejudice, including homophobia and transphobia which are the root causes of much bullying.

“The lessons being learned in Ireland can contribute to further developments across Europe, much as we can learn from innovative and successful practices in other countries.”

Kerry County Council passed a motion in support of equal marriage on Monday, becoming the latest local authority in Ireland to vote in favour of marriage equality.

The motion was tabled by Labour Councillor, Gillian Wharton-Slattery, after she was approached by members of the gay community, asking why the motion had not been passed yet.

A study published last week suggested that many gay and bisexual teenagers who are bullied at a younger age – are picked on less by the time they reach 19 – but they still remain disproportionately affected by the problem.

Anna Grodzka, Europe’s first transgender MP spoke out about poverty and social exclusion in the LGBT community last Sunday at the National Lesbian and Gay Federation Conference in Dublin.

Approval expected but full House vote likely to be tough battle
21 FEBRUARY 2013 | BY GREG HERNANDEZ
The next step in the path to Illinois becoming the 10th state in the US to make gay marriage legal will come next Tuesday (26 February) when it is to be considered by the House Executive Committee.

The committee is comprised of seven Democrats and four Republicans. At least six of the members must vote in favor of sending the Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act to the full House for a vote.

Since the Illinois State Senate passed the marriage equality bill by a vote of 34-21 last week, a full House vote would be the final step before Illinois Governor Pat Quinn can sign gay marriage into law.

At least 60 House members must vote 'yes' to pass the legislation for it to move on to the governor.

Illinois already allows civil unions. It is believed legalizing marriage equality could generate the state anywhere from $39 to $72 million and up to $8 million in new tax revenues.

But the marriage bill has seen strong criticism from religious and far right-wing groups.

Traditionally, the elderly in Indonesia are cared for by their families. But that's not the case for transgender people, who often have nowhere to go. A new home created specially for them is about to change that.

The estimated three million transgender people living in Indonesia are often rejected by their families, who are ashamed of them. Many of these people survive as prostitutes, but when they grow old, they have nowhere to go and end up begging on the streets.

But now, what might be the world's first ever elderly home for transgender people is being built on the outskirts of the Indonesian capital, Jakarta.

It's a very small pink house at the end of a dusty alleyway. There are chickens running around and children playing. It is here that Indonesia's first senior citizen's home for transsexuals and transgender people, or waria, as they are known in Indonesia, is being built.

Inside, 51-year-old Yulianus Rettoblaut watches in the mirror as a friend goes through the daily ritual of applying her heavy make up - thick white foundation, fake eyelashes, bright red lipstick and a long black wig that is tied in a bun at the back.

Not alone, but often isolated

"I lived in a village in an isolated area on the island of Papua. There was no one there who was transgender, or gay," she explains. "I started feeling attracted to men when I was around 11 years old. I thought: what is this feeling; is it an illness? It was not until I was 18, when a friend at university who was also transgender, took me to Jakarta to the prostitution beat for waria that I realized there was this whole other world that existed. I was so confused. There were so many people like me dressed up so beautifully."
Suddenly, Yulianus realized she was not alone:
"I felt like a weight had been lifted from me - because I saw that if we wear beautiful clothes and make-up you could easily attract guys and be paid money for it! So you get satisfied, get to be beautiful and you earn money," she says.

Wednesday, 20 February 2013

The Defense of Marriage Act is already losing in the court of public opinion as a case challenging its constitutionality is about to be heard by the US Supreme Court.

A new poll found that 59 percent of Americans are against DOMA after being informed that the law prohibits the federal government from offering benefits to same-sex couples who are legally married.

The percentage of those against DOMA is actually higher than the 52 percent of people in the poll who said they are in favor of gay marriage in general. Also, 62 percent of respondents - including some of those who are against gay marriage - agree that 'it is discrimination for the federal government to deny marriage protections and benefits to legally married same-sex couples.'

'The findings of this poll should provide significant headwinds to LGBT advocates and allies and demonstrate to the Court that the thinking behind DOMA is outdated and indefensible,' said Winnie Stachelberg of the Center for American Progress and Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders which commissioned the poll.

The results of the poll are based on a live interviewer telephone survey conducted January 23 – 27 among 802 registered voters in the US.

Federal appeals courts in New York and Boston ruled that DOMA is unconstitutional - rulings appealed to the Supreme Court by the Republicans.

The justices have agreed to hear the New York case which was filed by Edith Windsor who sued because she was required to pay a $350,000 federal estate tax bill. The government does not recognize her marriage to her late wife Thea Spyer.

A pro-gay marriage group is set to launch a $1 million media campaign in support of same-sex nuptials, with full-page ads in several major newspapers and a television spot featuring President Barack Obama, former first lady Laura Bush and former Vice ,President Dick Cheney.

The Respect for Marriage Coalition, co-chaired by the Human Rights Campaign, is behind the ad campaign, which begins with TV spots airing on national cable and the Sunday-morning talk shows, along with ads in POLITICO, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, officials with the group said.

The goal of the spot is to show voices from both sides of the political aisle supporting gay marriage, an issue which saw statewide victories in Washington, Maryland, Maine and Minnesota on Election Day last November.

In the ad, Bush is quoted as saying, “When couples are committed to each other and love each other, then they ought to have the same sort of rights that everyone has.”

Obama’s clip is from his inaugural address last month, in which he said, “Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law.”

There are two major cases in front of the U.S. Supreme Court that relate to gay marriage — one about the California gay marriage ban, the other about the federal Defense of Marriage Act — and the ad campaign takes place in the context of landmarks in the pro-gay marriage movement.

Tuesday, 19 February 2013

There is good news for in Massachusetts-based transgender students and and their parents.

Last week, the state's Department of Elementary and Secondary Education mandated that transgender students be allowed to use bathrooms and play on the sports teams that coincide with their gender identification, reports The Boston Globe.

“These students, because of widespread misunderstanding and lack of knowledge about their lives, are at a higher risk for peer ostracism, victimization, and bullying,"the new directives read, according to the Globe. "Some students may feel uncomfortable sharing those facilities, but this “discomfort is not a reason to deny access to the transgender student."

The decree was put in place to help schools follow the state’s 2011 equal opportunity law that protects transgender residents. Similar policies in various states, advocacy groups, parents and students were also consulted by the Education Department, reports GLAAD.

“Research shows that transgender and gender non-conforming students suffer higher rates of verbal harassment, physical harassment, and physical assault in school,” Gunner Scott of the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition said in a statementon his group's website, acknowledging that there "is a lot of misunderstanding about transgender students and that some schools may not have the internal expertise to address all issues of concern as they arise."

Scott salutes the effort, but acknowledges that there has been some opposition. The Massachusetts Family Institute has argued that the bathroom policy endangers other students and violates their privacy.

"Fundamentally, boys need to be use boys’ rooms and girls need to be using the girls’ rooms, and we base that on their anatomical sex, not some sort of internalized gender identity,” Andrew Beckwith, general counsel for the institute, is quoted by the Associated Press as saying.

Monday, 18 February 2013

It appears the battle over same sex marriage in Minnesota may start to heat up earlier than expected.

While talking with Esme Murphy on WCCO Sunday Morning, Minnesota Senator Scott Dibble said he plans to introduce a bill to legalize gay marriage this week.

Dibble believes this legislation has the momentum to pass after voters defeated a constitutional amendment that would’ve strengthened the existing gay marriage ban.

“It’s just simply an amendment that removes the restriction that disallows some couples from getting married,” Dibble said. “My strong sense, even from folks in greater Minnesota, is that they’re comfortable with this, they know that Minnesota has changed a lot and is continuing to change at a very rapid pace.”

State Representative Karen Clark is expected to introduce a similar bill in the House. Neither she nor Dibble expect a vote on their bills until later this session after the Minnesota Legislature passes budget bills.

Gov. Mark Dayton has said he will sign a bill legalizing same-sex marriage if it reaches his desk.

Minnesota for Marriage, the group against the legalization of same-sex marriage, plans to rally at the State Capitol on March 7.

Thursday, 14 February 2013

The Illinois state Senate approved a bill to legalize same-sex marriage on Thursday in a Valentine's Day vote spearheaded by Democrats, as gay couples around the country used the romantic day to dramatize their quest for the right to marry.

Governor of Illinois Pat Quinn addresses the first session

of the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte,

North Carolina, September 4, 2012.

Credit: Reuters/Jessica Rinaldi

The Illinois Senate, which is heavily Democratic, voted 34-21 to advance the measure to the House in President Barack Obama's home state. The fate of the bill in the state's lower chamber remains uncertain.

Democratic Governor Pat Quinn has promised to sign any bill legalizing gay marriage, which would make Illinois the 10th state to legalize same-sex nuptials, in addition to the District of Columbia. It would also become the first Midwestern state to approve same-sex marriage through legislation. Iowa's Supreme Court legalized such marriages there in 2009.

Obama has encouraged the drive to legalize gay marriage, authorizing a White House statement recently saying that if he were still in the Illinois legislature, he would vote for it.

The Illinois drive to legalize gay marriage coincided with a national campaign by a coalition of gay rights groups to highlight the issue on Valentine's Day.

As part of what they call "Freedom to Marry Week," same-sex couples will request marriage licenses in 18 places around the country, including a number of states where same sex-marriage is not legal.

"These laws are unjust and immoral, and we are confronting those laws head-on across the country," said Heather Cronk, managing director of GetEQUAL, a gay rights group

Friday, 8 February 2013

A slim majority of Pennsylvania voters supports legalizing gay marriage, an issue that will be argued before the U.S. Supreme Court next month.

Fifty-two percent support gay marriage, a Franklin & Marshall poll made public Thursday shows, up from 33 percent support measured by the college in a 2006 poll. The increased support mirrors a national trend and the results of a Morning Call/Muhlenberg College poll in December 2011.

Muhlenberg pollster Chris Borick has been watching views on gay marriage shift dramatically. Support rose from 35 percent in 2004, to 42 percent in 2009, to 52 percent in 2011. In polling terms, he said, that's "meteoric."

It's also largely generational. Of Pennsylvanians younger than 35, 79 percent support gay marriage, while those over 55 back gay marriage by 42 percent, said G. Terry Madonna, pollster for F&M in Lancaster.

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"I think in 25 years this is not going to be much of an issue," Madonna said.

The issue has seen significant turning points in just the last year. President Barack Obama voiced his support for gay marriage ahead of the 2012 election, the national Democrats added it to their party platform and the president's inaugural address last month was the first to include mention of gay rights.

At the end of March, the Supreme Court will hear arguments over the constitutionality of two laws, one federal and one from California, that define marriage as between one man and one woman. Nine states — Connecticut, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Vermont, and Washington — have legalized gay marriage.

Adrian Shanker of Bethlehem, president of Equality Pennsylvania, a nonprofit that advocates for gay equality, said Pennsylvanians and most Americans, particularly younger ones, are now viewing the gay marriage issue as a matter of civil rights.

"In six years, which is not that long in terms of public opinion on most issues, we've just seen a sea change," he said. "I think hearts and minds have been changing. ... Those who actively oppose it are shrinking every single day."

Friday, 1 February 2013

In what could be just enough of an opening for equality advocates to seize, a poll released Thursday showed Minnesota voters narrowly supporting same-sex marriage.�

According to the latest survey from Democratic-leaning Public Policy Polling, 47 percent of Minnesota voters favor making same-sex marriage legal compared with 45 percent who are opposed. In response to a separate question, 43 percent said they support legally permitting marriage for same-sex couples while 32 percent said they should be allowed to form civil unions but not marry. Only 23 percent said same-sex couples should receive no legal recognition.�

Combined with other factors, polling numbers like that could provide fertile ground for advocates to pursue a measure that would legalize same-sex marriage in the state. In November, a slim majority of Minnesota voters rejected a proposed constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage. The same election ushered in a new Democratic majority in the state legislature, while a Democrat (Mark Dayton) already resides in the governor's mansion.�

“Minnesota’s marriage equality advocates are in a strong starting position if they decide to push to allow gay marriage,” wrote Dean Debnam, president of PPP, in the poll's corresponding memo.